NCAA To Begin Phasing Back In Stripped Scholarships To Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 10: On College Avenue, a crying Penn State Nittany Lion window painting marks a store front, November 10, 2011 in State College, Pennsylvania. Paterno was fired during the Penn State Board of Trustees Press Conference yesterday in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)On College Avenue, a crying Penn State Nittany Lion window painting marks a store front, November 10, 2011 in State College, Pennsylvania. Paterno was fired during the Penn State Board of Trustees Press Conference in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Penn State will gradually get back football scholarships taken away over the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal, the NCAA announced Tuesday, crediting the university for making significant improvements to its athletics programs.

Five scholarships will be restored next year and more will be phased in until the school reaches normal totals in 2016-17, college sports’ governing body said. The NCAA said the decision was based on the recommendation of former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, who has been serving as Penn State’s athletics integrity monitor.

“This action provides an opportunity to recognize Penn State’s significant momentum, while also providing additional opportunities for student-athletes,” said Wake Forest University president Nathan Hatch, chair of the NCAA’s Division I board of directors.

Penn State president Rodney Erickson called the restoration of scholarships particularly welcome news for student-athletes who want to attend Penn State “and will now have the means to do so.”

The NCAA said it also may reduce the postseason, depending on the university’s future progress. Mitchell said it was premature to say which other sanctions might be changed.

“This was a positive response to positive action, and as to the future, we’ll have to make judgments in the future,” Mitchell told reporters in a conference call.

Mitchell said he recommended the restoration of scholarships, but the specific elements were decided by the NCAA and Big 10 conference. Earlier this month, Mitchell issued a report on the first year of his service as monitor, crediting Penn State for notable progress that included implementation of 119 recommendations made last summer by former FBI director Louis Freeh, who directed the school’s investigation into the scandal.